Fair Trade Towns: Bridges between Europe and Latin America

Abstract

The movement for trade justice has already seven decades of development since its pioneering experiences. In Europe it has seen a rapid growth, professionalization and institutionalization. Its actors are working every day in marketing, awareness and advocacy. For this, they have stimulated the development of the “Fair Trade Towns” campaign, through which local public institutions become development actors, promoting and implementing the principles of fair trade also through solidarity public procurement. In Latin American and the Caribbean, producers have for decades played an active role at the first ring of this solidarity chain; however, it is time to build, gradually also in South, solidarity marketing circuits like those established in Europe or North America. To achieve this goal, cities should become one of the articulating elements between producers and citizens- consumers. The idea of this article is that the “Fair Trade Towns” campaign could represent an important tool to promote fair trade also in Latin American and the Caribbean, and also to strengthen new links between cities of the two continents.

Keywords: fair trade, towns, small producers, consumers.